Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Robert M. Aiken / Doohong Min / Finding a high-value forage crop with limited water requirements to produce livestock feed is becoming increasingly important as producers adapt to restricted water supply conditions. Our objectives were to determine the forage yield, nutritive values, and crop water productivity (CWP) of teff grass (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.] Trotter) under field conditions when compared to sorghum sudangrass (SS, S. x drummondii[(Nees ex. Steud.) Millsp. & Chase]) and pearl millet (PM, P. glaucum [L.]R.Br.). Crop water productivity was determined by dividing above-ground biomass by crop water use. Crop water use was determined by the summation of soil water depletion, precipitation, and irrigation. Yield was determined by quadrat area clippings of above-ground biomass. Nutritive value was determined using wet chemical analysis. Cultivars showed significant differences in biomass production and CWP in both years. Excalibur teff grass variety had the greatest CWP (418 kg ha-1 cm-1) 40 days after planting (DAP) in 2016, and was similar to SS and PM for the rest of the season until 58 DAP. Pearl millet had the greatest overall CWP (443 kg ha-1 cm-1) at 44 DAP. In 2017, sorghum sudangrass had significantly greater CWP than teff grass and pearl millet throughout most of the season. Among the teff varieties, Haymore had the greatest CWP (239 kg ha-1 cm-1) when harvested 10 days after boot stage (DAB). Crude protein values of teff grass varieties ranged from 9.3% to 21.3%, depending on the harvest date and year. Teff grass showed equivalent or greater nitrogen use efficiency (27.8 – 88.8 kg biomass kg-1 N applied) in our study than previously reported. Teff grass demonstrated potential to provide producers with a fast-growing and competitive forage crop with less overall water use due to a shortened growing season.

Limited research has been conducted and uncertainty exists regarding sugarcane response to water stress during different development phases. This information is necessary to optimize the allocation of limited irrigation water for sugarcane production. The objective of this study was to understand and quantify the response of crop water use (CWU), canopy development, stalk elongation, biomass accumulation and partitioning, and sugarcane yield to mild water stress, imposed through deficit drip irrigation, during different development phases. A field experiment consisting of a plant and first ratoon crop of cultivar N49 was conducted near Komatipoort. For the three water stress treatments, available soil water (ASW) was maintained between 30 and 60% of capacity during the tillering phase (TP), stalk elongation phase (SEP) and through both phases. ASW was maintained above 60% of capacity in the well-watered control and during periods when stress was not intended. Rainfall prevented water stress from developing in the TP of the plant crop. In the ratoon crop, 72% less irrigation was applied in the TP, resulting in 50 days of stress (ASW<50%). This did not affect stalk population but reduced CWU by 13%, shortened stalks by 21% and affected the canopy by reducing green leaf number (GLN) and green leaf area index (GLAI). Relieving the stress during SEP allowed the crop to re-establish its canopy, capture adequate photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and restore rates of photo-assimilation (as suggested by CWU) and stalk elongation to support rapid biomass production. This restoration of plant processes allowed the ratoon crop to attain a cane and stalk dry biomass (SDM) yield that was only 9 and 11% lower (statistically insignificant), respectively, than the well-watered control at lodging (crop age of 286 days). During the SEP of the plant and ratoon crop, 42 and 85% less irrigation was applied, resulting in the crops experiencing 74 and 39 days of stress and using 7 and 8% less water, respectively. This did not affect stalk population or the crop canopy, but reduced stalk height by about 6 and 14% in the plant and ratoon crops, respectively. In both crops, shorter stalks and a negatively affected CWU which reduced photo-assimilate production, reduced cane yield by 14 and 10% (statically insignificant) and SDM yield by 15 and 5% (statistically insignificant), in the plant and ratoon crops respectively. © University of Pretoria iv Deficit irrigation throughout the TP and SEP of the ratoon crop reduced irrigation amount by 74%, resulting in 110 days of stress and reducing CWU by 16% and stalk height by 14%. PAR capture was reduced through reduced GLAI. This resulted in a significant reduction of 15% in cane yield. SDM yield was reduced by 17%, although this was not statistically significant. Stalk sucrose content was not influenced by deficit irrigation but was rather dependent on the duration of the drying-off period prior to harvest. Sucrose yields were therefore largely determined by SDM. Results suggest that the soil water potential (SWP) measured at 0.25 and 0.40 m depths, halfway between drip emitters within a plant or ratoon crop, can drop to about -40 kPa before irrigation is applied, without sacrificing cane or sucrose yield. Lastly, a ratoon crop can rapidly recover from stress during the TP, provided that the SWP during SEP is maintained above -40 kPa. / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Master of Science / Agronomy / Robert Aiken / Xiaomao Lin / Productivity of water-limited cropping systems can be reduced by untimely distribution of water as well as cold and heat stress. The research objective was to develop relationships among weather parameters, water use, and grain productivity to produce production functions to forecast grain yields of grain sorghum and winter wheat in water-limited cropping systems. Algorithms, defined by the Kansas Water Budget (KSWB) model, solve the soil water budget with a daily time step and were implemented using the Matlab computer language. The relationship of grain yield to crop water use, reported in several crop sequence studies conducted in Bushland, TX; Colby, KS and Tribune, KS were compared against KSWB model results using contemporary weather data. The predictive accuracy of the KSWB model was also evaluated in relation to experimental results. Field studies showed that winter wheat had stable grain yields over a wide range of crop water use, while sorghum had a wider range of yields over a smaller distribution of crop water use. The relationship of winter wheat yield to crop water use, simulated by KSWB, was comparable to relationships developed for four of five experimental results, except for one study conducted in Bushland that indicated less crop water productivity. In contrast, for grain sorghum, experimental yield response to an increment of water use was less than that calculated by KSWB for three of five cases; for one study at Colby and Tribune, simulated and experimental yield response to water use were similar. Simulated yield thresholds were consistent with observed yield thresholds for both wheat and sorghum in all but one case, that of wheat in the Bushland study previously mentioned. Factors in addition to crop water use, such as weeds, pests, or disease, may have contributed to these differences. The KSWB model provides a useful analytic framework for distinguishing water supply constraints to grain productivity.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Rapidly increasing global population is adding more pressure to the agricultural sector to produce more food to meet growing demands. However the sector is already faced with a challenge to reduce freshwater utilisation as this sector is currently using approximately 70% of global water freshwater resources. In South Africa, the agriculture sector utilizes approximately 62% of freshwater resources and contributes directly about5% to the Gross Domestic Product. South Africa is a water scarce country receiving less than 500mm/year of precipitation in most parts of the country, and consequently approximately 90% of the crops are grown under irrigation. Studies have evaluated irrigation practices and crop water use in the country. However information is lacking on the full impact of South African horticultural products on freshwater resources. The water footprint concept can be used to indicate the total and source (blue/green) of water used to produce the crops. Information about water footprint (WF) can be used for identifying opportunities to reduce the water consumption associated with production of vegetables and fruits at the field to farm- gate levels, including the more effective use of rainfall (green water) as opposed to water abstracted from rivers and groundwater (Blue water). It can also be used to understand water related risks associated with the production of crops and facilitate water allocation and management at catchment/water management scale. While the potential value of water footprint information is well recognized there is still inadequate knowledge on how best to determine the water footprints of various crops within a local context. The aim of this study was to determine the water footprint and the crop water productivity of navel oranges, pink lady apples and potatoes produced with the Olifant/Doorn water management area in South Africa.The water footprint of the navel oranges, pink lady apples and potatoes assessed following the water footprint network method was 125 litres/ kg, 108 litres/kg and 65 litres/ kg respectively. The study concluded that water footprint studies should be carried out on the whole catchment instead of one farm in order to assess the sustainability of the process.

Com a crescente procura por alternativas para suprir energeticamente o mundo, cada vez mais, fontes mais limpas e renováveis estão sendo utilizadas. No Brasil, a produção de óleos vegetais visando a geração de energia (biodiesel) ainda é incipiente. Dentre as diferentes espécies de oleaginosas, o pinhão manso (Jatropha curcas L.) vem se destacando como uma ótima alternativa no fornecimento de matéria prima para a produção de biodiesel. Informações sobre essa cultura ainda são escassas, principalmente no Brasil, onde há pouco tempo foram iniciadas as pesquisas. A necessidade de informações locais também ressalta a importância da pesquisa com o Pinhão Manso. Com base nessas necessidades, o objetivo desse experimento foi analisar a viabilidade técnica da produção de mudas irrigadas de pinhão manso por sistema de subirrigação e desenvolver um sistema automatizado de manejo. O controle da irrigação foi realizado a partir da variação de peso dos tubetes com as mudas, devido a perda de água por evapotranspiração. No processo de controle dos pesos foram utilizadas células de carga, que monitoraram a variação de peso de um conjunto de tubetes denominado conjunto controle. O delineamento experimental foi em delineamento inteiramente aleatorizado, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos avaliados foram quatro níveis de depleção da máxima capacidade de retenção de água (MCRA) apresentada pelo substrato (T1=20%, T2=40%, T3=60% e T4=80% da MCRA). Para se quantificar os efeitos dos tratamentos foram avaliadas semanalmente as seguintes características das mudas: altura e diâmetro do caule, número de folhas e área foliar, bem como a produção de matéria fresca e seca da parte aérea e do sistema radicular. Os resultados mostram que o tratamento 2 foi o que se destacou dentre os demais, produzindo mudas de melhor qualidade, com maior acúmulo de matéria seca e maior consumo hídrico. / With the growing demand for alternative energy to meet the world, increasingly more clean and renewable sources are being used. In Brazil, the production of vegetable oils aimed at producing energy (biodiesel) is still incipient. Among the different species of oleaginous plants, jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) has emerged as a great alternative in providing raw material for biodiesel production. Information on this crop are still scarce, especially in Brazil where they recently started research. The need for local information also emphasizes the importance of research with Jatropha. Based on these needs, the aim of this experiment was to analyze the technical viability production of jatropha seedlings irrigated by subirrigation system and develop an automated system management. The irrigation control was carried out from the weight variation of the vials with the seedlings because of water loss through evapotranspiration. In the process of weight control were used load cells, which monitored the weight variation of a set of vials called the control group. The experimental design was the completely randomized with four replications. The treatments were four levels of depletion of the maximum water holding capacity (MCRA) presented by the substrate (T1=20%, T2=40%, T3=60% e T4=80% da MCRA). To quantify the effects of the treatments were evaluated weekly the following characteristics of seedlings: height and diameter of the stem, leaf number and leaf area, and the production of fresh and dry shoot and root. The results show that treatment 2 was what stood out among the others, producing higher quality seedlings with greater dry matter accumulation and increased water consumption.

Com a crescente procura por alternativas para suprir energeticamente o mundo, cada vez mais, fontes mais limpas e renováveis estão sendo utilizadas. No Brasil, a produção de óleos vegetais visando a geração de energia (biodiesel) ainda é incipiente. Dentre as diferentes espécies de oleaginosas, o pinhão manso (Jatropha curcas L.) vem se destacando como uma ótima alternativa no fornecimento de matéria prima para a produção de biodiesel. Informações sobre essa cultura ainda são escassas, principalmente no Brasil, onde há pouco tempo foram iniciadas as pesquisas. A necessidade de informações locais também ressalta a importância da pesquisa com o Pinhão Manso. Com base nessas necessidades, o objetivo desse experimento foi analisar a viabilidade técnica da produção de mudas irrigadas de pinhão manso por sistema de subirrigação e desenvolver um sistema automatizado de manejo. O controle da irrigação foi realizado a partir da variação de peso dos tubetes com as mudas, devido a perda de água por evapotranspiração. No processo de controle dos pesos foram utilizadas células de carga, que monitoraram a variação de peso de um conjunto de tubetes denominado conjunto controle. O delineamento experimental foi em delineamento inteiramente aleatorizado, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos avaliados foram quatro níveis de depleção da máxima capacidade de retenção de água (MCRA) apresentada pelo substrato (T1=20%, T2=40%, T3=60% e T4=80% da MCRA). Para se quantificar os efeitos dos tratamentos foram avaliadas semanalmente as seguintes características das mudas: altura e diâmetro do caule, número de folhas e área foliar, bem como a produção de matéria fresca e seca da parte aérea e do sistema radicular. Os resultados mostram que o tratamento 2 foi o que se destacou dentre os demais, produzindo mudas de melhor qualidade, com maior acúmulo de matéria seca e maior consumo hídrico. / With the growing demand for alternative energy to meet the world, increasingly more clean and renewable sources are being used. In Brazil, the production of vegetable oils aimed at producing energy (biodiesel) is still incipient. Among the different species of oleaginous plants, jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) has emerged as a great alternative in providing raw material for biodiesel production. Information on this crop are still scarce, especially in Brazil where they recently started research. The need for local information also emphasizes the importance of research with Jatropha. Based on these needs, the aim of this experiment was to analyze the technical viability production of jatropha seedlings irrigated by subirrigation system and develop an automated system management. The irrigation control was carried out from the weight variation of the vials with the seedlings because of water loss through evapotranspiration. In the process of weight control were used load cells, which monitored the weight variation of a set of vials called the control group. The experimental design was the completely randomized with four replications. The treatments were four levels of depletion of the maximum water holding capacity (MCRA) presented by the substrate (T1=20%, T2=40%, T3=60% e T4=80% da MCRA). To quantify the effects of the treatments were evaluated weekly the following characteristics of seedlings: height and diameter of the stem, leaf number and leaf area, and the production of fresh and dry shoot and root. The results show that treatment 2 was what stood out among the others, producing higher quality seedlings with greater dry matter accumulation and increased water consumption.